Nickname

A nickname is a short, clever, cute, derogatory, or otherwise substitute name for a person or thing's real name (for example, Tom is short for Thomas). As a concept, it is distinct from both pseudonym and stage name, although there may be overlap in these concepts.

Nicknames for people

Types of personal nickname:

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Relating to given names

1. A nickname may be a hypocoristic form of a person's first name. This is often a simple abbreviation of the name. For most English names the shortened form is taken from the first syllable e.g. Walt for Walter. However in many other languages it is much more common to use the last syllable of the whole name e.g. Italian Nino for Giovanni (via Giovannino, which is a diminutive form of Giovanni). Some abbreviations can use the middle of a word e.g. Liz for Elizabeth. There are a few names for which an archaic pronunciation of the full name is preserved in the short name e.g. Rick for Richard indicates that the -ch- was originally pronounced as -ck-. Some other nicknames wre created by rhyming the shortened form of the full name, such as Ted or Ned for Edward (Ed), Bill for William (Will), and Bob or Nob for Robert (Rob). For those abbreviations that do not begin with the same letter as the full name, see list of short name forms.

Related Topics:
Hypocoristic - Italian - Diminutive - List of short name forms

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Examples:

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• Ally, Allie for Alexandra, Allison, Alison or Alice
• Al, Alex, Lex, Xander, Sasha for Alexander or Alexandra
• Andie for Andrea
• Andy, Drew for Andrew
• Ant, Tony, Toni, Tone for Anthony
• Barb, Barbie, Babs for Barbara
• Ben, Benny, Benji for Benjamin
• Bert, Bertie for Albert, Herbert, Bertram
• Betta for Elisabetta
• Buck for Charles
• Chuck, Chaz, Charlie for Charles
• Chris, Chrissy, Chrissie for Christine
• Chris for Christopher
• Donna for Donnatella
• Dan, Danny for Daniel
• Dave, for David
• Den, Denny, Dino, Dean for Dennis
• Dot, Dotty for Dorothy or Dorothea
• Ella, Ellie, Elle for Eleanor
• Beth, Bess, Bessie, Betsy, Betty, Bette, Eliza, Lisa, Liza, Liz for Elizabeth
• Ed, Eddie, Ned, Ted for Edward
• Em, Ems, Emmy for Emily and Emma
• Rikki,Rikkie,Ricky for Erica
• Frank for Francis
• Gerry for Gerald or Gerard
• Harry, Hal, Hank for Henry and Harold
• Isa for Isabella
• Jack, Johnny for John
• Jake for Jacob
• Jay for Jason
• Jeff for Jefferson or Jeffrey (originally for Jefferson but now more often Jeffrey, a new form of Geoffrey)
• Jerry for Jerome
• Jim, Jimmy, Jamie, Jock for James
• Joe, Joey for Joseph
• Jon for Jonathan
• Josh for Joshua
• Kat, Kate, Katie, Kathy for Katrina, Kathleen or Katherine or Kaitlyn
• Ken, for Kenneth
• Kev, Crank for Kevin
• Larry, Lar, Laurie for Lawrence or Laurence (male only)
• Laur, Lauri, Laurie for Laurence, Laura or Lauren (female)
• Leo, Len, Lenny for Leonard or Leopold
• Mandy, Mandi, Manda for Amanda
• Maddie, Maddy for Madeline
• Marge, Marg, Maggie, Mags, Meg, Peggy for Margaret
• Matt, Mattie for Matthew
• Meg, Mog, Gog for Megan
• Mo for Mohammed, Maurice, Morris, or Maureen
• Moll, Molly Dolly, Good Golly Miss Molly for Molly
• Nate, Nat for Nathan, Nathaniel, Natalie
• Ned for Edward
• Pat, Patsy, Patty, Trish, Tricia for Patricia
• Pat, Paddy for Patrick
• Pete for Peter
• Rick, Rich, Dick for Richard
• Bob, Rob, Robbie, Bobby, Rab for Robert
• Ron, Ronnie for Ronald
• Rosie, Rose for Rosemary
• Rusty for Russell
• Ry for Ryan
• Sam for Samuel or Samantha
• Sandra, Sandy, Al, Alex for Alexandra
• Steph, Stephie for Stephanie
• Steve for Stephen (or Steven)
• Sue, Susie, Suzie for Susan/Suzanne (most often Sue or Susie for Susan and Suzie for Suzanne)
• Ted, Teddy, Theo for Theodore (or Edward)
• Teddie, Thea, Theo for Theodora
• Tom, Thom, Tommy for Thomas
• Terrie for Teresa
• Vicky, Vicki, Vickie, Tori for Victoria
• Vince, Vin, Vinnie for Vincent
• Vivi for Vivian
• Wen, Wendel for Wendy
• Bill, Billy, Will, Willy, Liam for William
• Zach, Zack, Zac for Zachary

Many of these names are also registered as formal birth names.

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2. A nickname may relate directly to a person's surname. Examples:

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• Fletch for someone with the surname Fletcher
• Mitch for someone with the surname Mitchell
• Murph for someone with the surname Murphy
• Sully for someone with the surname Sullivan
• Smitty for someone with the surname Smith
• Churchy for Winston Churchill

3. It may also relate indirectly to a surname. Examples:

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• Chalky for someone with the surname White
• Sandy for someone with the surname Brown
• Dicky for someone with the surname Bird
• Dinger for someone with the surname Bell
• Chook for someone with the surname Fowler (only in Australia, where 'chook' is slang for chicken)

4. A nickname may reflect a national or cultural style. In the United States, for instance, rhyming contractions or plays on a person's name are common, as in:

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• Flo-Jo Florence Griffith Joyner
• Ho-Jo, any person named Howard Johnson or the chain of hotels with the same name
• J-Lo Jennifer Lopez ('J' from Jennifer and 'Lo' from Lopez)
• A-Rod Alex Rodriguez

Calling a person by their initials is also common.

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5. Nicknames, whatever their original basis, may become cultural norms. 'Sis', (slang for 'sister') for example, is often picked up and used by all the members of a family, their friends and society at large. Similarly, 'Chip' (off the old block) and 'Junior' can be used for any youngster and the nickname may follow the person into adulthood.

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Relating to culture/nationality

6. It may relate (offensively or otherwise) to a person's nationality or place of origin. Examples:

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• Aussie for an Australian
• Canuck for a person from Canada
• Jap for a person from Japan used around World War II
• Chink for a person of Chinese or other East Asian descent (offensive)
• Kiwi for a New Zealander
• Kraut for a German(offensive)
• Charlie for a Vietcong (mainly used around Vietnam War)
• Hong Kee for a Hongkonger (Normally used by Singaporeans)
• Limey for an English person (U.S. usage); Pom or Pommy (Australian usage)
• Mac or Jock for a Scottish person
• 'Mank' for someone from Manchester, UK
• Mainlander for a person from The People's Republic of China, to distinguish them from Hongkies or Taiwanese of Han Chinese ethnicity. Mainly used amoungst Asians.
• Pinoy (or Noypi) for Filipino person
• Newfie for a person from Newfoundland or Labrador
• Scouser for a person from Liverpool
• Taff for a Welsh person
• Ruskies for a Russian
• 'Seppo' for a person from the United States - Australian slang, orig. British rhyming slang. (Seppo - Septic - Septic Tank - Yank.)
• Tex for a person from Texas
• Wack for a person from Liverpool (obsolete)
• Yank or Yankee for a person from the United States, particularly those Americans from the U.S. Northeast.

Relating to personal characteristics

7. A nickname may relate to the person's occupation. Examples:

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• Chips for a carpenter
• Sparky or Sparks for an electrician or radio operator
• Chief for a boss

8. It may reference a person's physical characteristics. Examples:

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• Baldy or Curly (ironic) for a bald person
• Tubby or Chubby for a fat person
• Lofty or Stretch for a tall person
• Four-eyes for a person with glasses(offensive)
• Red, Rusty or Firecrotch for a person with red hair
• Blondie for a person with blond hair

It may be a sarcastic, or simply ironic, reference, e.g., Curly for someone with straight hair (or no hair at all) - this form is very typical in Australian English, e.g:

Related Topics:
No hair - Australian English

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• Blue for a person with red hair
• Tiny for a very large person
• Dulz for a cross eyed person(offsive)
• Shorty for a very tall person
• Slick for a clumsy, awkward or shy person
• Slim for a fat person

9. It may relate to a person's character, imagined or real. Examples:

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• Grumpy
• Swotty
• Romeo

10. It may relate to a specific incident or action. Example: Capability Brown was so called because he used the word "capability" instead of "possibility". Other examples include: Chemical Ali and Comical Ali. Many fictional characters have nicknames relating to events: Examples include the Red Comet, White Tiger, Desert Tiger and Hawk of Endymion.

Related Topics:
Capability Brown - Chemical Ali - Comical Ali - Red Comet - White Tiger - Desert Tiger - Hawk of Endymion

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11. It may compare the person with a famous or fictional character. Examples:

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• Napoleon or Hitler for someone with a dictatorial manner

12. It may be related to their place of origin or place of residence. Examples:

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• Gloucester, Paul from Gloucester or PFG for someone named Paul who comes from a town called Gloucester.
• Robin Hood (Robin of Hood), a famous fictional character.

Others

12. A famous person's nickname may be unique to them:

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• Tippecanoe for William Henry Harrison
• Dubya for George W. Bush. Dubya is from the Texan pronunciation of 'w', Bush's middle initial.
• Jack The Dripper for painter Jackson Pollock who created many of his works by dripping paint over horizontal canvas

13. A person's nickname may have no traceable origin. For example, a person named "Harold" may be nicknamed "Fred" for no apparent reason, or a man who was named after a relative may ask his friends to call him "Chip" to avoid confusion.

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